The Texas Trick
by Stardust16
Summary: Maya was scared about Lucas getting hurt in the rodeo and Farkle knew she never got scared, unless she was absolutely worried about something. Farkle knew he had to something, so he and Lucas switched places and he rode the bull instead. The only problem? He was completely unaware of Riley's feelings for himself. Rated T.


**This is a new story and it's set in Girl Meets Texas. It's mainly Riarkle, but there's a little something for everyone. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Oh my gosh." As moments from last year's rodeo were displayed on the small TV screen, the blonde's eyes widened in terror and fear as she realized just how horrible the situation really was. Once the clips were finished, she turned to the cowboy and narrowed her eyes, tears threatening to fall. "You are _not_ going on that thing!"

"What? Maya, I thought you were on board with this," The green eyed boy spoke, confused.

"I was before I saw this was a death trap!" She shouted, angry and scared. She blinked back her tears and lowered her head so nobody could see how close she was to crying. "I don't want you to go on that thing."

"Maya," Riley said, stepping into the conversation, "Please, we don't want to shake Lucas' confidence." She had then turned to the bull rider himself and smiled. "You can do this, Lucas. Don't worry about a thing. I believe in you."

Lucas smiled back at the girl. "Thanks, Riley. I'm glad you believe in me."

Maya stared at the two, shocked. She was at a loss for words. Suddenly, a bell was heard and Lucas headed out to get ready for the rodeo. As he was leaving the tent, however, he was stopped by Maya, who took the chance to speak up and voice her opinion one last time.

"Lucas," she announced. The cowboy immediately stopped in his tracks and spun back around, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "If you do this…If you actually get on that bull…" The blonde suddenly felt her eyes get watery once more and again, she blinked back her tears. "I swear, cross my heart, I will never speak to you again."

The green eyed brunette glanced back outside of the tent and then stared at the blonde girl, trying to make a decision. After a minute or two, he shook his head and muttered "I'm sorry, Maya," before finally leaving.

The blonde, upon seeing her crush leave, finally gave up and started sobbing. Almost instantly, Farkle stepped out from behind Zay and wrapped the girl in a hug. Maya cried into his shoulder and as she did, Farkle thought about what just happened. He knew she liked Lucas, but he didn't exactly know how much. He didn't know whether she loved him more or less than Riley, but this just proved exactly how much she cared for him. If she was crying about him, than Farkle knew Maya was in love with him. She cried very few times, so for her to be doing so now…well, he couldn't exactly put it into words, but he knew it was special. He knew Lucas was special to her. That was all he needed to know.

The two stayed like this for a while, until Riley broke the silence. "Guys?" She interrupted, "We have five minutes to get our seats before Lucas' performance."

Maya broke the hug and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, though it did nothing, as they were still visible on her face. "Of course," she replied, her voice still filled with sadness, "Let's go then."

As the three friends left, Farkle stayed behind. He knew that he had to do something and he had to figure out what. Lucas wanted to ride the bull and prove to everybody that his fears didn't control his life, while Maya had just finished crying her eyes out. He stood there for what felt like forever until he finally came up with an idea. He had then spun on his heels and raced toward the area where Lucas was getting ready for the rodeo.

"Lucas!" He called out, trying to catch his breath, "Maya…she…wants to talk to you. Near that big tree over there." He then pointed at a big, leafy tree, in the middle of a medium sized patch of grass. Along the edges, stone bricks were placed so that there was a place for people to sit.

"Now?" The cowboy questioned, confused, "But there's about three minutes till the show starts. And didn't she just beg me not to do this?"

"She…um..." the genius wracked his brain until he finally managed to come up with a good enough excuse, "She wants to wish you good luck."

"Then why didn't she just come here herself?"

"Oh, she doesn't want to come watch in case of..well, you know."

"In case I die?"

"What?!" The genius exclaimed, his tone of voice sounding very fake. He assumed that came from his terrible acting skills. "No!"

"Whatever." Lucas had then tossed his helmet to Farkle and gestured toward the rodeo staff. "If I'm not back in time for the bull ride, stall for me, okay?"

"Sure." The cowboy had then turned on his heels and left. Now, with his plan put into action, Farkle quietly congratulated himself for being the good, loyal friend that he is and for saving Maya from heartbreak and Lucas from pain. This was going to work. He knew it would.

* * *

"Hey Maya."

"Huckleberry?" The blonde looked up at the sound of her crush's voice, confused, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for your big show?"

"Farkle said you wanted to talk to me and wish me good luck."

"I-I didn't…" Maya now had a worried look on her face and hesitated before speaking again. "I didn't say anything like that."

Lucas now looked just as confused as she. "Then why did he—"

"I don't know." The cowboy had then sat down beside the girl and the two sat in silence for a few seconds before Lucas stood up again.

"I better go," he stated. Maya suddenly stood up from her spot and wrapped her cowboy friend in a hug.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm sorry for what I said, Ranger Rick. I just didn't want to see you get hurt."

"It's alright," he whispered back, "You're forgiven, Maya. I know you were just looking out for me."

"Yay," the rebellious girl muttered quietly. She had then let go and gestured back at the rodeo entrance. "You better get back now. Wouldn't want to miss your big moment."

Lucas smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem." The green eyed brunette was just about to leave when he heard the blonde call his name one last time. "Wait. Lucas, who is that?" She asked, pointing to the middle of the riding ring, where the bull was currently trying to throw it's rider off.

"I-I don't…" Suddenly, everything clicked into place and Lucas' eyes widened in horror and shock. "Oh my gosh…He didn't…"

From the distance, the two watched as the rider of the bull was thrown off and went flying against the wooden fence. Maya's eyes widened in fear, just like Lucas' and as she spoke again, her voice shook slightly. "Lucas," she repeated, "Who is that?"

The Texan didn't answer, as he suddenly took off running towards the ring, with the rebellious girl right behind him. Once there, he swung himself over the fence and stopped to help the blonde do the same. "Riley!" He called, as he joined the cheerful brunette and his comedian friend, "Zay! Who was that?! What happened?! Are you guys okay?!"

"We're fine," The other Texan answered, slightly out of breath, "We're fine…"

"But that wasn't you?!" Riley yelled, scared and confused. She had then glanced at her surroundings, with tears brimming in her eyes, and realized that their genius friend was nowhere to be found. Her eyes met Lucas' and the two stared at each other in worry, thinking the exact same thing. "Oh my gosh," she breathed quietly, "Farkle…" The brunette had then spun around and took off running towards the other side of the ring, with her four friends following along behind her.

Within minutes, the four had reached their friend and as they did so, Riley took the chance to kneel down beside her friend and tossed the mask he was wearing to the side. She glanced back at the genius's pale face and tears brimmed in her eyes as she did so. "Farkle?!" She yelled frantically, "Farkle?! Answer me! Say something!"

As this happened, the cowboy held the rebellious blonde close to himself while Zay took a few steps back, making sure to be quiet the entire time. Riley was now sobbing and was going to give up hope—something she'd never done before—when the genius opened his eyes and called the beautiful brunette's name.

"Riley…" At the sound of Farkle's voice, Riley instantly turned back to him and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

"Farkle!" She shouted, making him wince due to the loud sound of her voice. "Farkle! O-Oh my gosh…Y-You're gonna be okay, alright? You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay, everything's gonna be okay…"

"Riley," Farkle replied, weakly, "Riley, I love you, o-okay?"

"I know that. Ever since the first grade, Maya and me equally—"

"N-No, Riley, t-that's not what I meant…"

"What do you mean then?" The girl asked, worried, confused and nervous. When the genius didn't answer and she saw his eyes fluttering closed, she grew even more worried. "Farkle?!" She yelled, "Farkle, don't you dare close your eyes on me! Don't you dare—"

But it was too late. The brunette's eyes were already closed and as Riley continued to sob, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. Looking up, Riley thought it'd be Lucas, so she was fairly surprised when she saw Zay was the one who who was comforting her instead.

"Hey, hey," He whispered gently to the girl as he hugged her tight, "Riley, don't cry. Riley, it's gonna be okay…"

"You don't know that," the brunette whispered back, tears still streaming down her face, "You don't know that, Zay, so don't make promises you can't keep…"

"Riley," Maya said as she came over and approached her two friends, "This isn't like you. This isn't the Riley I know. What happened to all of that 'if you hope for something long enough, it might just happen' stuff? What happened to having hope?"

"That was before I never got to tell Farkle how I felt, Maya."

"Actually, Riley…" The saddened brunette looked up at her green eyed friend, with a sudden hopeful look in her eyes, "If there's ever a time to have hope, I'd say it's most definitely now." The cowboy had then stood up from his spot beside his unconscious friend and made his way over to the gloomy girl. Zay had backed off and released Riley from his grip, leaving Lucas to take his place.

Riley looked up, more hopeful than she was before. Her eyes twinkled in the sun and the tears in her eyes made her look even more beautiful. She flashed Lucas a small smile before asking, "You mean, he's gonna be okay?"

Lucas smiled back and gently nudged Riley closer to him, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay, Riley," he assured her, "It's gonna be okay. I checked his pulse and he's just unconscious. There's no need to worry. There's no need to cry."

The two of them stayed like this for a while, until they decided to move away from the scene. Instead, they sat on the stone fence Maya sat on before the show, and after what felt like forever, Riley stopped crying and wiped her tears away once more. "Are you okay now?" Lucas asked, concerned, as he gently grabbed Riley's hand and helped her up.

"I'm okay," The brunette replied, her voice barely above a whisper, "I'm okay, Lucas. I'm okay."

Lucas smiled. "Good." He had then held the girl's hand and lead her over to where the blonde and the other Texan were standing and leaning on the wooden fence. Maya was just shoving her phone in her pocket, as Zay continued staring ahead at the now-empty ring. "Hey guys." The green eyed brunette called out softly, "How's it going?"

Maya turned around and instantly narrowed her eyes at the boy. However, once her eyes landed on Riley, her eyes softened and she sighed. "I just called Farkle's parents and told them what happened…"

"How did they take it?" The green eyed cowboy asked, worriedly.

The blonde shook her head. "I-I really don't know. Minkus picked up the phone and as I was explaining…He was calm, but I could hear the shock and sadness behind his voice. He just hung up after that. I'm not too sure what's going to happen next, but he said he'd call Matthews' and then Mr. Matthews would let us know what's up." Maya had then glanced at her BFF and gave her a sad smile. "You wanna go back to the ranch, Riles?"

Riley nodded, unable to say anything else. She knew that if she even tried to speak, she'd break down and start crying again.

Maya approached her friend and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, holding her close in order to assure her. The two Texans followed them, making quiet small talk as they went.

* * *

After they arrived back at the ranch, the four friends went their separate ways. Riley went straight up to her guest room and stayed there with the door locked, while Maya quietly sketched the inside of the Friar ranch on the bay window, and the two Texas teens played video games, though you could easily see that neither of them were really focused on battling aliens and undead zombies.

This continued on for the past week. Nobody really talked to each other unless they had to, though Lucas and Zay did make small talk now and then. Riley was the worst out of the four. Every day, for that week, she was either out exploring the countryside or sitting in her room silently. Maya was concerned for her best friend and a few days later, finally decided she had enough.

"Okay, I'm done," Maya said, one day when all four of them were in the ranch's living room, "I'm done with this."

"With what?" Lucas asked, looking up, confused.

"With her!" Maya exclaimed as she pointed to her best friend, who was just sitting at the bay window and staring at the ground. At the sound of her best friend's voice, Riley glanced up, confused.

"Me?" She questioned, "What did I ever do?"

"It's not what you did!" Maya shouted, "It's what you're doing! I'm tired of you just staying quiet and sulking for the entire time we've been here! What happened to Riley?! What happened to my best friend?! What happened to the girl who gave me hope all those times that I needed it, but didn't want to believe in it?! What happened to her?!"

"Maya…" Zay commented, trying to put a stop to the conversation before it went too far.

"She's gone now, Maya," the brunette replied quietly, "She's gone. Now's not the time to have hope. Hope is useless and it only brings disappointment."

"Liar!" Maya yelled, "Hope isn't useless, Riley! And do you know who taught me that?! You! You did! You showed me that if you really believed in something, it came true! You taught me that there was light in this world! But you know what you also taught me? That there's only light if you let it in." Maya had then sighed and sat down beside her best friend, wrapping an arm around the brunette girl as she did so. "Now, tell me what's wrong. Are you worried about Farkle? Is that it?"

The brown eyed girl said nothing for a few minutes and everything was quiet until she spoke up. "It's my fault, Maya," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes, "It's my fault he got hurt. If I didn't sign Lucas up for the stupid thing, nothing would've happened. We wouldn't have visited Texas and he would've never gotten hurt."

The blonde's blue eyes softened. "That's what you're so upset about?" She asked, "You think it's your fault Farkle got hurt?"

Riley nodded, tears now streaming down her face.

Maya sighed and lifted her friend's head so they could see each other eye to eye. "Riley," she assured her, "This isn't your fault, okay? It's that stupid bull's fault. That stupid bull—Tombstone—was the one who hurt Farkle. Not you."

Riley shook her head. "But b-because of my need to f-fix things…"

"Riley," Maya repeated, with more force and demand in her voice, "This is not your fault. I don't want you to blame yourself for something like this, alright?" She had then wrapped her best friend in a hug, and in response, Riley cried into the blonde's shoulder.

"Okay," the brunette answered as she continued sobbing, "I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize," Maya stated as she comforted her friend, "Farkle wouldn't have wanted you to and he wouldn't have wanted you to blame yourself either."

Riley was just about to respond when she heard a voice say something along the lines of, "She's right." She instantly turned her head and smiled when she saw the blue eyed genius standing in the doorway. His arm was in a sling and he had a few cuts on his face, but other than that, he looked perfectly fine.

"Farkle!" The brunette cried, happily, as she ran up to hug her friend. "Oh my gosh! You're okay!"

"Riley!" the genius exclaimed. The girl have him a hug, being careful not to crush his arm in the process. After a few seconds, she let go and smiled, too happy to know what to say.

"I missed you," Riley stated after a while, "You have no clue how worried I've been."

"Riley," Farkle repeated. Using his good arm, he lifted the girl's head so they could see eye to eye. "Don't you ever blame yourself for something like this again, okay?"

Riley nodded. "Okay."

"I'm serious, Riley. I don't want you to take the blame for something like this when you and I both know this wasn't your fault. I chose to do it. I chose to ride that bull, even though I knew the consequences. I chose to put myself in danger."

Riley nodded and the two hugged again once more, with Riley leaning her head on Farkle's shoulder. "Okay," she whispered, "I love you, Farkle."

"I love you too, Riley," the genius whispered back, "I love you too."

* * *

 **And there you have it! This is a special one shot I've been planning for the last three days, and I'll tell you why. It's my birthday (not giving away the year for personal reasons, so please don't ask)! I thought it would be a good idea to publish this today, for not only that reason, but also because three days ago (August 13) was Corey Fogelmanis' birthday (who portrays Farkle [who, if you didn't know, is my favourite character]) and in three days (August 19), Girl Meets the Real World will premiere! So, ta da! Perfect timing, right? XD  
**

 **Now, how did you guys enjoy the story? This is probably the longest GMW one shot I have ever written, and in very little time too (most one shots take about a week for me to write). So, yay me! :D XD**

 **While I was writing this, I tried to add a little bit of every shipping in, so I hope it turned out okay. There's Rucas, Lucaya, Faya, Ziley, Rilaya and Riarkle (which was supposed to be the main pairing), so there's something for everyone!**

 **I don't know if you guys liked the ending or not (was it too romantic?), but, if you didn't, then there's a little deleted scene/different ending I added in down below. Make sure to check it out and let me know what you think in the reviews!**

 **~Star**

* * *

 _(Deleted scene/different ending)_

"Hey guys," Cory greeted as he watched his five favourite students enter his classroom for the first time in a week and a half. They settled into their seats, and as they did so, he took notice of the injured genius. "What happened to you?" He asked his smartest student, confused and concerned.

"I took Lucas' place in the rodeo," Farkle answered, as if it was completely normal to compete in a bull riding completion with no proper training whatsoever.

"What?! Why?!" The teacher looked at the green eyed boy for an answer.

"Hey, don't look at me," the Texan defended himself, "I didn't even know he was planning such a thing."

Cory glanced at the genius again. "Why?!" He repeated.

"Because that's just the kind of friend I am," Farkle replied. He smiled at his four friends and they smiled back at him, as if they were having some sort of silent conversation only they could understand.

Cory sighed and decided it was best not to ask questions. "Alright," He stated as he grabbed his pointer stick and gestured toward the chalkboard, "Belgium, 1831…"


End file.
